


Enchanting Green

by kipsi



Category: Batman: The Telltale Series (Video Game)
Genre: Episode: s02e01 The Enigma, M/M, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-30
Updated: 2017-12-30
Packaged: 2019-02-24 00:41:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13202025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kipsi/pseuds/kipsi
Summary: Bruce is shocked but also a bit relieved to see John again. Although the place isn't exactly ideal for a reunion.





	Enchanting Green

**Author's Note:**

> Getting back to writing with something simple. This piece is also me kind of figuring out how to write these two... and it's based on my own playthrough of ep 1 with just a couple of changes.
> 
> Hopefully I'll write more of these two in the future.

Bruce took in John’s appearance, still a bit shocked to find him here. He hadn’t seen him since Arkham. And he looked… good. Better. Nervous, tugging and playing with the hem of his purple shirt. But still good.

The card had been… unexpected. Just like the encounter with him, but not entirely unwelcome. And If he was being honest with himself, Bruce was actually kind of glad to see him again. John had left an impression on him the first time he’d met him. And he couldn’t deny that he felt intrigued by him.

But he hadn’t thought that he’d see him at his friend’s funeral. That wasn’t completely _fine_. Him crashing the funeral.

John let out a breath, licking his lips nervously.

“It hasn’t- hasn’t been easy for me, you know? Being out…” John sighed, looking at him, “sometimes I miss those padded walls,” he whispered sadly. The look on his face was dejected, his green eyes downcast and avoiding Bruce’s.

Bruce felt a sting at those words, the way John’s shoulders had dropped and made him look smaller, disheartened. He still didn’t look at Bruce, not properly. Just at his feet. He looked so small and sad Bruce wanted to reach out to him, put his hand on his shoulder. But he refrained.

You broke out, didn’t you?  
That’s where you belong.  
**You don’t mean that.**

“You- you can’t possibly mean that,” he started, and John’s eyes lifted to his.

Bruce remembered what it had been like, being in there. Getting beaten up immediately after waking up, the glares he had received. He hadn’t been in there for a long time, but he still had a feeling just how miserable the place was. And John had been there way, way longer than he had. “Arkham is hell,” he bit out.

John looked at him sadly. “It was my home, Bruce…” he breathed out.

“…and home is where the heart is.” John’s lips turned into a small, sweet and melancholic smile. Bruce felt another sting, looking at his expression.

He looked so lost, so unsure of his surroundings and everything that happened around him, not used to living outside of Arkham. Not used to the way everything worked, like he described. How things didn’t make _sense_.

But then there were those moments that Bruce had already noted in these few minutes. Those moments when John’s eyes seeked for his, burned on him and took him in completely. And the uncertainty in those green eyes dissipated, just for those few seconds.

Like now, how John looked at him and told him about his new friends. How he should meet them, get to know them, how they reminded him of Bruce. The green in his eyes more vibrant, more… profound. Looking _into_ him.

But then the awkwardness was back, the nervous energy, as John got to the point. “You- you’ll meet them for me, won’t you? Please? I’ve… I’ve got a lot riding on this.” He looked anxious, his eyes skipping from Bruce’s eyes to his nose, lips, ear. “I, uh, already told them you would.”

Bruce remained silent, observing him. John was still a mystery to him.

“Please don’t let me down,” John pleaded.

I don’t want anything to do with them.  
I’d be happy to.  
**I’m pretty busy.**

Bruce let out a sigh.

“Look, John…” Bruce started, already seeing John’s face drop, making it more difficult to say what he was about to. “My schedule’s pretty packed these days.”

John looked at him with sad eyes. “ _Please_ don’t blow me off,” his eyes big and begging. “Not after what we went through together.”

Bruce sighed.

John pursed his lips. “Disappointing…” he muttered, dropping his arms to rest onto the seat in front him, burying his head into his elbows. Bruce watched at his moping silently. John exhaled deeply. “You know… I spoke so highly of you… told them you’d fit right in,” he sounded again so down, all of his cheeriness gone in a second. And then his voice changed, again, lowering. “Just makes me want to… I don’t know… lash out!” John gripped at the seat and took his tantrum out on it.

His muttering was interrupted by a shush from a man a few rows from where they sat.

It made John’s tantrum worse.

He stood up and looked at the man with annoyance. “Shhh? Shhhhh?!” John hissed, “You shush me again, and you’ll be mourning the loss of your teeth!”

Bruce watched at John disapprovingly. He was behaving like a child, but at the same time with the same temper he’d seen before, when they had both been in Arkham.

He decided to interfere before he might do something else, not wanting to make a scene. Not the place nor the time, not with Tiffany and Alfred already shooting him glances from the front.

“Easy, John,” he murmured. “Take a deep breath, okay? Calm down.”

John did as he was told and sat down again, glancing at Bruce nervously, looking guilty. “I’m sorry, Bruce. That outburst… it- it was antisocial, I know,” he sighed, shifting his eyes away from him. “Dr. Leland says I have a hard time handling rejection.”

Bruce hummed at him.

They sat in silence for a moment, just listening to the funeral ceremony, Bruce glancing at John from the corner of his eye. He seemed down, again, fumbling with the hem of his shirt. It amazed and fascinated Bruce how fast his mood could change; from happy to sad, to upset and annoyed. He wanted to see more of him. But most of all, he wanted to see those green eyes, looking right into his. They captivated him. Every single time.

“I’ll meet them,” he decided then. John turned to look at him, shocked. His green eyes literally sparkling. “Are you sure?? You said that you’re busy…” he bit his lip, still waiting for Bruce to change his mind.

Bruce shrugged. “I can always reschedule a couple of appointments.”

John beamed at him. “Yes! Thank you, Bruce! This means a lot to me,” he clapped his hands in glee and then whipped out his Iphone, moving into Bruce’s space, grinning at the front-facing camera. “Smile!”

Bruce gave him a small smile. It made John’s eyes glister with happiness.


End file.
